1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to offshore drilling, and in particular to a subsea wellhead system for use in areas which have shallow, unconsolidated water producing formations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common offshore technique involves drilling a first section of the hole and installing conductor pipe with an external wellhead housing at the upper end. The external wellhead housing will be located approximately at the sea floor. Then, the operator drills the well to a second depth and installs a first section of casing. An internal or high pressure wellhead housing is usually located at the upper end of the first string of casing. This first string of casing will be cemented in the well, with cement returns flowing up around the casing, through the conductor pipe and out flow ports located in the external wellhead housing. These flow ports remain open after cementing.
The operator retrieves the running tool for the internal wellhead housing and connects a drilling riser and blowout preventer to the internal wellhead housing. The operator will then drill the well to greater depths and normally install at least two more strings of casing. Each string of casing has a casing hanger at its upper end which will land and seal in the internal wellhead housing.
In some areas, the conventional technique described above is not satisfactory. For example, one area in the Gulf of Mexico has an unconsolidated sand formation approximately 1000 below sea level. This formation has a pressure that is higher than the pressure at the sea floor by approximately 50-250 psi. When drilled into, the formation tends to wash out, with water and sand flowing upward to the sea floor. If the well washes out severely, this can be a dangerous problem.
Various techniques have been employed to overcome the washout problem. A cement is available that is of a foaming type which can be employed to retard washout. U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,686 discloses a system for avoiding washout. However, that system requires using two different size drilling risers at various stages of the drilling. This makes the technique very expensive.
In another prior art system, each of the flow ports in the external wellhead housing is connected to a ball valve which can be closed by a remote operated vehicle after the internal wellhead housing is installed. Closing the ball valves assures that if leakage from the water producing formation begins after completion of the well, it will not flow out the flow ports, causing a dangerous washout. However, it is advantageous to have several flow ports to allow a high flow rate while the flow ports are open. Several ball valves add substantially to the expense of a completed well and to operating difficulties.